Leaked iPad Air 3 Schematic Reveals Some Changes

With the iPad Air model having not been refreshed for more than a year, there’s a good chance that we can expect Apple to make some kind of announcement in the coming months. A recent report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed that the announcement could take place in the first half of 2016.

While that is certainly a possibility, the next question is what kind of changes will Apple be making to the tablet? The folks at Nowhereelse.fr (via Cult of Mac) have managed to get their hands on what seems to be the schematic for the iPad Air 3, which in turn reveals some possible changes we can look forward to.

On the surface the shape of the tablet appears to be similar to its predecessors, but this is to be expected. However upon closer inspection, it has been revealed that Apple could be introducing additional speakers around the tablet, similar to the ones found on the iPad Pro. The schematic shows speakers on the bottom and on the top of the device.

Also below the camera there is another circular cutout which has been speculated to be for the camera flash. Given that tablet cameras have never been known for good photography, or used to take photography all that much, we’re not sure if the flash is entirely necessary. Also the schematic shows that at least for the iPad Air 3, the headphone port will remain.

There have been rumors that suggests that Apple could remove the headphone port, but perhaps that will only be applicable from the iPhone 7 onwards. Take it with a grain of salt for now, but hopefully Apple will reveal the official details soon.